Improvement in apparatus for cleaning coffee



Fig.

N- PETERS. PHDTO-LITHOGRAPHLR, WASHINGTON D C dimitir %tua JOSEE JOHNSON, OF NEW YORK,

Letters Patent No. 113,890, dated April 18, 1,871.

MPROVEMENTIN 'APPARATUS FOR CLEANING COFFEE, &c.

The Schedule referred to in these I ietters Patent and making part of the same.

To all whom 'it may concern Be it known that I, J OsEE JOHNSON, of New York city, in the county of New York and in the State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improments in Apparatus for Cleaning Goiiee, Grain, &c.; and I do hereby declare that the following is a. full, clear, and exact description thereof', reference be ing had tothe accompanying drawing and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

The nature of my invention consists in an apparatus and process for cleaning green coffee, grain, 8vo., of gravel, stone, dust, &c., by means of a conical, wedge, or similar-shaped vessel or sieve made of perforated sheet metal, wire-netting, or wire-gauze, provided with a vessel or sieve of the' same shape and material, but of a much smaller size, which is tovlit within and on the bottom of the larger vessel or sieve, the smaller vessel designed to receive the gravel, Ste., which is washed from the coli'ee or grain, and the larger vessel to hold the coifee or grain, each vessel to be provided with handles or other suitable means for lifting or moving them in and out of the water, or as desired, all of which will be more fully hereinafter described to enable others skilled in the arts to make and use my invention.

In the drawing- Figure 1 represents the larger vessel or sieve constructed of wire-netting, with the smallenvessel or sieve of the same materiahand with a handle, and both of a conical shape;

Figure 2 shows the smaller vessel or sieve shown in iig. l by itself; and

Figure 3 represents the two A,vessels of conical form made of perforated sheet metal, the coffee washed, and the gravel, dirt, 85o., precipitated into the smaller vessel ready to be removed; and the two vessels or sieves are shown immersed in a tub of water.

A is the larger vessel or sieve, preferably made of a conical form, and when the cleaning is not to be carried ou on a large Scale the vessel A may be of a. size to conveniently cont-aiu about a bag of coiee or a hundred pounds of coffee; and then the vessel A mayjrave handles, by means of which the operator may lift and manage the vessel as desired. Ifthe intention is to clean large amounts of coffee the vessel A may be constructed of a much larger size, and provided with means oi' attachment to steam or other power, so that a larger and heavier quantity of grain or coii'ee could be rapidly and easily cleaned.

B is the smaller vessel, and is made to correspond `with the shape of the vessel A. Itis provided with a handle, b, by means of which it (B) can be readily lifted out of the vessel A. The size of this vessel B will be of about the size necessary to Ahold the gravel, dirt, &c., which may be washed from the amount ol' coil'ee contained Vbv the vessel A in one washing.

A tub or Darrel, C, of a size sufficient to receive the vessel or sieve A, is about filled with water, as shown in iig. 3.

Having constructed the vessels or sieves A and B as above set forth, and put them together as'shown in tig. 1, they areplaced in a tub of water, C, as shown in g. 3. The colee or grain to be cleansed is then poured into the mouth of .vessel A.V The gravel, dirt, 85e., being of a greater specilic gravity than the coliee, will fall through the water more rapidly than the coffee, and so accumulate in the smaller vessel or sieve B, with the coiee above it and outside of the the vessel B; but as some of the gravel, 85e., poured in with the last of the coii'ee to be washed would not be precipitated so rapidly as to reach the vessel B before the codec first poured in, the operator, by handles or-proper lifting apparatus, lifts the larger vessel A up, as shown in' dottedl lines in g. 3, and then lets the vessel down into the water rapidly; the force ofthe water passing through the openings in thev vessels'lifts the coffee and gravel up toward the .top of the vessel A, and this movement allows the gravel, dirt, 85o., of greater specific gravity than the coiiee to settle below the coffee; and this movement rapidly repeated some half a dozen or more times will cause all .the dirt, stone, 85e., to be washed from the coffee and settle down into the vessel B, or pass olf through the side openings in the vessels A and B.

The smaller vessel B, thus lled withv the gravel, dirt, 85e., is now lifted by its handle b or other suitable means from the vessel A, and thrown one side; and the coffee is then cleaned of its dust, dirt, gravel, 8vo., and is drawn with thc vessel A from the tub O. The coiiee thus cleaned is removed from the vessel A and dried. f The vessels A andA B are then put toV gether, and the same operation is repeated. n;

The larger vessel or sieve A could be used alone,"-

and when the gravel, Sto., had been precipitated the coliefe could be raked or otherwise removed from thel vessel A; or various devices might be designed by which the function performed by the smaller vessel B could be done; but as it is so simple and eicient I prefer to use it.

Having thus fully described my invention,

What I claim as new, and desire to secure LettersPatent, is

1. The combination of the vessels or sieves A and B, when used with water, substantially in the manner and for the'p'urposes set forth.

2. The within-described process for cleaning-coffee by the use of the apparatus above, claimed, and in the manner herein described.

In testimony that I claim the above-described certain new and useful improvements in apparatus for cleaning coi'ee, grain, Ste, I have hereunto signed my name this 30th day of March, 1871.

Witnesses: JOSEE JOHNSON..

V. O. Cuivres, T. G. CLAYTON. y 

